Bailee Rainwater is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who graduated from Belmont University with a degree in songwriting and music business. Before the pandemic, she was playing shows in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. While she hopes to return to performing after Covid, she is currently focusing on writing full-time, running her small bed and breakfast and becoming a certified pilates instructor. Her new song “ Christmastime ” is now streaming on music platforms ...
Dec 19, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 173
Dr. Leslie Ellis is a teacher, author, and psychotherapist. She is currently offering online dream work instruction based on her book, A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy (published in 2019). She also offers individual dream work sessions and training in somatic approaches to psychotherapy. Leslie has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a Masters from Pacific Graduate Institute. She is vice president and a Certifying Coordinator with The Internati...
Dec 16, 2020•53 min•Ep. 172
FAVVKES (pronounced "fox") is a Canadian artist and songwriter. FAVVKES brings you 90s nostalgia with a 2020 attitude. Her alternative, rock-pop style is reminiscent of artists like Courtney Love and Garbage, while bringing charisma and fresh fashion like Gwen Stefani. FAVVKES is preparing her solo debut, and she unapologetically touches on sensitive subject matter surrounding mental health. Her songs deliver strong messages on what it means to deal with social anxiety, depression, acceptance an...
Dec 12, 2020•59 min•Ep. 171
Allison Gilbert is an Emmy award-winning journalist, author, workshop leader, and keynote speaker. She is the author of Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive , and the critically acclaimed books Parentless Parents: How the Loss of Our Mothers and Fathers Impacts the Way We Raise Our Children, and Always Too Soon: Voices of Support for Those Who Have Lost Both Parents . She is also co-editor of Covering Catastrophe , the definitive historical record of how broadcast journalists...
Dec 05, 2020•54 min•Ep. 170
Holly Barker is the founder of Grief Anonymous, an online and group support organization developed to support those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Her husband of 14 years and the father of her son died in 2014 at the age of 41 after an eight-year battle with malignant melanoma skin cancer. Holly’s mission is to continue to see Grief Anonymous be a national support organization. In this episode we talk about being a caregiver for her husband while he had cancer, the dreams she started ...
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 169
At the age of nine, Matthew Bocchi’s father died in 2001 on 9/11 in the World Trade Center. He began an obsessive quest to find out exactly how he died. Now, twenty-eight and sober, he teaches a clear and intricate lesson: no matter how far you fall, you can always rise again. No matter how far you stray, you can always find your way home. And no matter how wide you sway, you can always pick up the pieces and stand tall. His new book "Swa y" is a unique story full of heartbreak and despair, grie...
Nov 21, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 168
Sherrie Dunlevy is a best selling author, speaker, podcaster, inspirationinsta, and grieving mom. Her best selling book is called “ How Can I Help?: Your go-to guide for helping loved ones through life’s difficulties. ” Sherrie is the host of the “Graduating Grief” podcast. Sherrie has also designed a Graduating Grief program and community for women. In this episode we talk about her career as a TV news anchor, the death of her 29 day old child, the difficulties reporting the news while grieving...
Nov 09, 2020•57 min•Ep. 167
Tamsin Grainger is a touch therapist based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has worked in this area for 30 years. She specializes in Shiatsu, a Japanese acupressure massage modality. In 2000, Tamsin opened The Shiatsu School Edinburgh (training professional and post graduate practitioners, and beginners). She was the Chair and a board member for the Shiatsu Society (UK) and is a member of the Complementary and Natural healthcare Council (UK). Additionally, she teaches Shiatsu internationally. Tamsin ...
Oct 30, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 166
Gregor Collins is an author, speaker, actor and contributor living in New York. He started his career in Los Angeles producing reality TV before shifting gears to acting, performing on stage, on television and in independent feature films. His writing and acting have been featured in “The Los Angeles Times,” “The Guardian,” “Huffington Post,” “Publishers Weekly,” “Cinema Editor Magazine” and others, as well as on Off-Broadway stages across New York. Collins travels the globe with his memoir ”The...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 165
Dr. Kimberly R. Mascaro wears many hats, in addition to her role as a psychologist. Dr. Mascaro has worked in the fields of mental/behavioral health (having supervised outpatient clinics and other therapeutic programs), as well as higher education, for over 20 years. She holds a license to practice psychotherapy in the state of California. Her primary focus is on women’s issues – in particular, navigating life’s big transitions, as well as treating trauma, anxiety, and grief/loss. She integrates...
Oct 02, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 164
In this guest update episode we talk with Shelby Forsythia from episodes 52 and 130. Shelby is the author of Your Grief, Your Way and Permission to Grieve and podcast host of Coming Back: Conversations on Life After Loss. After the unexpected death of her mother in 2013, she became a “student of grief” and set out on a lifetime mission to explore the oft-misunderstood human experience of loss. Through her books, podcast, and live events, she helps grieving people reclaim their power and peace of...
Sep 25, 2020•55 min•Ep. 163
Patricia de Picciotto was born in Hong Kong from Lebanese parents, and raised in Geneva, Switzerland until she graduated from college with a BA in Marketing and Communication. She then spent a couple of years in London to study for her GIA (graduate gemologist) and worked in Jewelry. Patricia then lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for ten years, where she met her husband, had three kids and founded a jewelry line, Pasha Joias. She moved to New York over five years ago, where she became an art guide in...
Sep 16, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 162
Jason Wendroff-Rawnicki is a certified yoga educator and dōTERRA Essential Oil specialist, who has a MA in psychology. He co-founded Shine Yoga Center in New Jersey and travels nationally & internationally leading classes, workshops, retreats and educating about the benefits and powers of essential oils. In June of 1998, his sister Lauren died in a car accident. Knowing that he needed more than talk therapy to deal with his grief, Jason turned toward a body-centered approach. Yoga, meditatio...
Sep 10, 2020•58 min•Ep. 161
Barron Steffen is a longtime student on the spiritual path of Siddha Yoga, a big band crooner, and a widower. He has been a big wave surfer, a 1980s Italian pop singer, and an award-winning elementary school teacher. Steffen has now fully transitioned from the elementary school classroom to his company, The Yoga of Mindset, where he teaches children and adults how to use their thoughts so they're not used by them. Barron recently published the book The Final Gift of the Beloved: Her Disappearanc...
Sep 04, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 160
Lindsey Whissel Fenton is a senior producer at WPSU, the PBS/NPR affiliate station in Central Pennsylvania. She’s an Emmy award-winning storyteller who is passionate about using public media to build empathy. Lindsey produced, directed, and wrote the documentary Speaking Grief and continues to produce content for the initiative’s website and social media presence. In this episode we talk about Shotokan karate, how karate relates to grief, the Speaking Grief documentary, learning to speak grief, ...
Aug 29, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 159
Julie Rennie has done Accounting and Income Tax for most of her career primarily as a self-employed individual and currently runs a law practice as a Licensed Paralegal out of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Julie married Mark Black (Dr. Joshua Black’s father) in 1977 spending the next few decades as Julie Black. The positive blessings and outcomes from this marriage were building her faith in God and being a mother to her 4 children: Rebecca, Nathaniel, Joshua and Rachel. The marriage suffered chal...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 158
Dr. T.J. Wray is a Professor of Religious Studies at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island where she teaches a diverse array of classes, ranging from grief and loss to women of the Bible. A prolific writer, Dr. Wray is the author of many articles and books, including the best-selling “ Surviving the Death of a Sibling: Living Through Grief When an Adult Brother or Sister Dies ” and “ Grief Dreams: How They Help Heal Us After the Death of a Loved One ”. A popular biblical scholar, she ...
Aug 12, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 157
Flora Baker is a travel writer and author from London, UK. Flora was 20 years old when her mum died suddenly of breast cancer, and 29 when her dad died of fibrosis. After a decade of grieving, Flora now uses her personal narrative writing and her online presence to engage with the global grief community and help others through their own experiences of loss. Flora’s new book, ‘The Adult Orphan Club’, is a part memoir, part guide to grief which aims to be a companion to those coping with bereaveme...
Aug 05, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 156
Philip Goldberg is the author or co-author of some 25 books published in more than a dozen languages; a public speaker and workshop leader; a spiritual counselor, meditation teacher and ordained Interfaith Minister. A Los Angeles resident, he cohosts the Spirit Matters podcast, leads American Veda Tours and blogs regularly on Elephant Journal and Spirituality & Health. His book American Veda was named by Huffington Post and Library Journal as one of the Top 10 Religion Books of 2010; it was ...
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 155
Jane Edberg is a published writer working in poetry, flash non-fiction and memoir. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts. She is a retired art professor who taught Art Appreciation, Photography and Design at various Universities and spent twenty years full-time at Gavilan College. She is currently working on a hybrid memoir of images and prose called “The Fine Art of Grieving” and authors a blog and Facebook page by the same title. In this episode we talk about appreciating art, feeling...
Jul 19, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 154
Alexa Norton recently graduated from Utah Valley University in Public Relations. Alexa suffered the death of her Dad, Daryl Gene Norton, over 3 years ago in a skiing accident at Snowbird Ski Resort. She has recently started an Instagram account that focuses on the grief journey @griefshine In this episode we talk about the relationship with her dad, seeing her dad as a person, her dad’s reaction to her dating, her dad’s death, the local news reporting on his death, having her wedding 3 months af...
Jul 09, 2020•56 min•Ep. 153
Gary Alan Shockley is an award winner artist, author and grief counselor living in Boiling Springs Pennsylvania. He has two master’s degrees, one in theology and another in Spiritual Formation and Counseling. Gary has served as a pastor and a professional Healthcare Chaplain aligned with two Inpatient Hospice Units in North Carolina where he worked with dying patients and their families. From decades of walking alongside people in their journeys of dying and of death, and supporting children in ...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 152
John Dietsch is an award-winning writer, producer, director, talent, and consultant on hundreds of film and television shows focusing on the outdoors, travel, and fly fishing. As a life coach, teacher, TV personality, Aspen Colorado guide, and host of fly fishing trips across the globe, John helps his clients and students follow their passion by connecting with nature. He is perhaps best known in fly fishing circles for his supervision, doubling, and stunt work on the fly fishing scenes for the ...
Jun 16, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 151
Erica Buist is a journalist from London, England and writes mostly for the Guardian. February 2021 will see the publication of her first book, This Party's Dead , in which she investigates death anxiety by travelling to seven death festivals following the sudden loss of her father-in-law. In this episode we talk about the death of her father-in-law, her agoraphobia following the loss, visiting 7 death festivals around the world, her book, and grief dreams. You can find more about Erica here: Web...
Jun 05, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 150
Chelsea Rushton holds a BFA in Creative Writing and an MFA in Visual Art. Her art practice integrates somatics, ritual, and spirituality to explore how creative process can document and facilitate personal and collective growth and evolution. She works as a Technical Writer in the Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. Her parents both died suddenly, within eight months of each other, in 2018, when they were 69 and 71. In this episode we talk with Chelsea about her...
May 30, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 149
Dr. Virginia Marsico is a Chiropractic Physician currently practicing in central Florida. After treating patients with conventional chiropractic care, she realized that many of the obstacles preventing her patients from achieving optimal health were not physical in origin. She now focuses on helping patients become their best by focusing on the mind-body-gut connection through functional medicine, addressing underlying issues involving emotional and physiological imbalances in the body. In this ...
May 23, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 148
In this guest update episode we talk with Rebecca MacDonald from episode 109. Rebecca is a self-taught keepsake artist working and living in Ontario with her husband and dog. Since immigrating to Canada in 2009, Rebecca has experienced loss many times. The passing of her grandfather in 2014 meant the loss of a loved one and a source of inspiration in her life. His courage and compassion continue to drive her to help others with their grief. Through the creation of custom jewellery and keepsakes,...
May 17, 2020•47 min•Ep. 147
We rereleased this episode (E109) as our next episode features an update on the guest. Rebecca MacDonald is a self-taught memorial jewelry artist working and living in Ontario with her husband and dog. Since immigrating to Canada 10 years ago, Rebecca has experienced loss many times as she moved throughout the country. Her grandfather has been a huge inspiration in her life and dealing with his passing from the other side of the Atlantic ocean has been one of her biggest struggles so far. By fos...
May 17, 2020•55 min•Ep. 146
Lisa Keefauver spent the past 2 decades as a clinical social worker and narrative therapist. She witnessed first hand the unnecessary suffering of so many individuals because their families, communities, and culture weren’t supporting them in their grief. And then, it happened to her too. At 40, Lisa became a widow. In 2011, her husband Eric died in her arms, leaving her a single mother to their 7 year-old daughter. Just a few years later, she was by the bedside of a close friend when he succumb...
May 14, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 145
Dr. Sharon Prentice is a psychotherapist and spiritual counselor whose work focuses on helping patients process the grief of losing a loved one. Becoming Starlight is her memoir of healing from the devastating loss of her daughter and husband. She experienced a unique spiritual experience, known as a Shared Death Experience (SDE), which gave her a peek into foreverness and a sense of peace that was otherworldly. In this episode we talk about meeting her husband, her pregnancy with her daughter, ...
May 02, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 144
